Category: Dance

Swing Scene Tools for Everyone!

10/1/2012

Hardly a day passes that I'm not grateful for the giant plate of awesome (with extra awesome sauce) that is my job. Sure, I've talked (sometimes at length) about the downsides, but man- my job is sweet. Why? First, my boss is generally me. And I suck less than many of the people my friends work for. True, I never leave myself alone, but typically, I'm pretty understanding. Second, and more relevant to this post, I work (for all practical purposes) in the world of non-profit. I work in a community-driven, big-picture-oriented, camaraderie-over-competition setting. My co-workers want me to do well, and I support them in return. This is not always the case, and has not always been the trend, but I think generally, The Scene has gotten wise to the value of cooperation. Allow me to illustrate.

Myopic example: Back in The Day, us old-timey Knoxville dancers used to go down to new-fangled Atlanta for just about anything. Big workshop? Great! Small workshop? Cool! Bigger-than-usual monthly dance? We're there! We thought of hotlanta as our sister scene in a way- the cooler older sister we'd never had. We were fortunate enough to have an exchange (not that common in the early 2000's), and it was our pride and joy. Yet not just once, but twice (as my addled brain recalls), Atlanta, a mere 4 hours away, hosted workshops on top of our exchange... knowingly. What makes the story so sad is not just that they thought it was ok (which is lame), but that we continued supporting these organizers (hey, events were scarce in The Dark Times). Have a conversation, past-self! Tell them that's not cool! Le sigh.

Super-Awesome example: This year, when preparing for Enter the Blues, Meghan and I discovered that unwittingly, we were for the same weekend as an event just a few hours from Atlanta, in Columbia, SC. We didn't have them on our calendars, and they hadn't announced their event, so we thought our weekend was safe, and confirmed some very important details. When we got an email from the Swing Into Spring team, we were a little heartbroken to know. But, being the awesome peeps that they are, they said, "well, since you're stuck, we can move our weekend." Now, back in The Day, the excuse would be made that lindy and blues are different dances, so there's no real competition. But if you haven't been to the dark side lately (whichever dance you do less, that is), you're likely to see some pretty familiar faces. The swing world is not a big one, and whether you dig on Bal, Charleston, Lindy, or Blues, you have a good chance of seeing familiar faces at any other swing-umbrella event. We're all just lovers of vintage american partnered folk dances, here. So they moved, and we've offered to help cross-promote (when they're ready) and maybe even offer some good-old-fashioned incentives for people who want to get down with their lindy AND blues selves. Bam- everyone spreads the love of dance, and the Southeast gets more than its share of cool events to attend.

But this post isn't about how cool the Columbia people are (although, of course, they are), or how glad I am that we've moved forward from an age of "may the biggest event win" to an age of "let's make the best dance scene possible." This post is about some ways that we can continue to move forward towards an even friendlier, healthier scene with fewer chances for conflict, and better dancers all around. So, with much ado, I present to you:

Tools for the Scene

1. A regional, non-public calendar. In the past, I've used a google calendar, and given access to anyone who is an organizer. This is important because it lets organizers put "maybes" on a calendar, so that they can give each other a heads-up before going public with an event. This way, organizers can talk before deposits are made or tickets are booked. Let's not repeat the nastiness of the Dark Ages.

2. The recognition that Lindy and Blues or Balboa and Blues events will, in fact, be in direct competition. Honestly, I even dislike Bal-Blues competition, but there are fewer of us who do both, so I'll settle for this: if it's a lindy event, it competes with any other swing-umbrella event (excluding Westie). Regardless of dance style, I'd like to see 2 months between events in the same city, and ideally several weeks between events in the same region.

3. This one doesn't exist, but I like the idea- a staff/volunteer database. I have people who have worked for me who are worth their weight in gold. Likewise, I have some positions at my events that need someone super reliable. Beyond personal knowledge, how I do I find super-awesome people to work for me? What about someone who fails to show up for 3 of their shifts with no explanation? I'd like for them to explain why they put Bob's Exchange in such a bad position before I hire them for mine. (If anyone makes this, let me know!)

4. Google Docs. No, really. Do you have any idea how powerful google docs are? No, really. Check it- this is how registration for Enter the Blues works this year:
1. You pay on our website.
2. Paypal emails us.
3. (Glitchy right now, but in hypothetical land, this happens) a gmail filter reads the email, and sends you the form to fill out.
4. You fill out the form, which populates a spreadsheet.
5. The spreadsheet sees that you're done, and emails confirmation.
6. The spreadsheet autopopulates other spreadsheets with only the relevant data- so Karen, our lovely housing person, doesn't have to see what track you're taking, and our financial sheet doesn't tell us if you're allergic to cats.
For real- Google does registration for us! It takes a fair amount of work on the front end, but still- it's cool. Of course, if you want to really go pro, and have a great team of support, I also recommend Open Dance. Very smart, very professional, and good peeps to top it off. Want other uses of Docs? How about storing bios for your local instructor pool so they can update them at any time, and you never have to pester them to resend again? Or, having your instructors for a weekend create cohesive curriculum using a doc that includes internal notes like pre-requisite moves or nice material to follow up with?

5. Public dancing. Quite the opposite of public shaming, dancing in public gets you in the public eye. We as a dance scene owe our existence to a Gap commercial, neo-swing bands, and a couple of movies. The more people know that lindy/blues/balboa exist, the more likely they are to give it a shot. So have outdoor dances at exchanges, dance in the park on Sunday, dance at music festivals. And if you have a media connection, use it! Get the word out- dance is a way cooler way to meet folks than this is:

I'm a believer that more events mean better dancers, and that's a good thing- but we need to place them with wisdom. So, I'm curious- what else can we do? How else can we grow the pool of dancers (and maintain our sanity), so that events can flourish?

With much love and lots of organizing on the brain,
-m.

8 Comments

The Importance of Non-Evil

11/14/2011

56 Comments

A few times a year, I hire my fiance to restrain my hands so I don't rip out my eyeballs. Before you ask whether that happens every 28 days or so, let me tell you: it's not. It's generally 2x per year. And if more organizers were good about sharing feedback on workshops, it'd be more often (hint, hint, organizers).

Boy, that's a weird start to a blog. Is it just me, or am I getting weirder?

Back to the topic at hand. I think you (yes, you- person who has a love of dancing, or of me) need to know something. When I get feedback, I read every single word written by every single person. Every. Single. Word. I don't send the results to some identity-less person working for a corporation they hate, to compile meaningless data and pass it back. I read every glowing compliment, every outraged indignity, every "nice job." And it's a painful, awful, crucial process. And for every dance-event survey you fill out, someone (probably several someones) goes through that same process- probably a few times.

I need every one of you to know this: the people who read the surveys are the people who have poured blood, sweat, and many tears into running these events. They may or may not make a dime. They might make $1.60/hr when all is calculated. But none of that matters- they do it out of love for dance, and love for the scene, so I have a very serious request: fill out surveys with love.

I don't mean you have to be all "everything was perfect" if it was a seriously flawed event. But when you fill out surveys, I need you to remember who you're writing to. For EtB and Blues Muse, you're writing to every organizer and every instructor: they will know what you said about their classes- and that's a great thing! That's how we make better events! But tell me what worked or didn't, and how I can improve. Here are some more and less effective examples (all made up by me, right now):

"The award ceremony was ridiculously terrible! I was supposed to be dancing, and spending so much time watching other people win awards ruined my weekend!" Less helpful- I have to fight the urge not to react emotionally. Here's a better way: "I was troubled by the length of the awards ceremony. Perhaps simple announcements could be used next year to allow more time for dancing." Helpful, clear, and seperating between the feelings of the writer and the issue at hand.

"I learned nothing in the classes." That will pretty much just ruin my day, and doesn't help me improve anything. Don't be evil like that. How about this: "Classes were so crowded that I was unable to focus on learning, so I only took 2 classes- that was disappointing." Your emotional reaction is conveyed, along with information about what we could do to improve (more class space!).

"Your awesome!" Mixed feelings here. 1. Your grammar is wrong. 2. In with all the rage, I love me some happiness- yay! 3. What did we do right? Try this: "What a great event! You created a great vibe, and totally allowed us to manage our needs, while still providing a full schedule! Plus, you're very charming!" Much better!

Also, there are a few things you should know:
1. Organizers are probably aware of glaring errors. For instance, if classes ran late all day, chances are good that the organizers are (painfully) aware. Mention things like this if they matter, but keep it brief. They get it.

2. Positive feedback is every bit as informative as negative feedback, and keeps us from stabbing out our eyeballs.

3. Believe it or not, professional dance instructors are generally good at knowing how you dance, how much control you have over your body, and YES, how your connection FEELS by watching. I have an entire blog on Auditions from a few years ago, and you should truly read it if you haven't. We do make mistakes, but that's what an appeals process is for- and those mistakes are pretty few. We see what's wrong in class, we see what's happening in privates, we recognize tone levels in prelims, and we have a pretty darned good idea what your connection feels like in auditions. I promise.

4. DJs need feedback, too! Pay attention to who is DJing when you're having fun, and when you're not. Even just information like "I had great dances all weekend" tells us that the DJs did their job well, so let us know!

5. Painfully low ratings on a class make me desperate to know what I did wrong. Pretty please, if you give an extreme high or low rating to something, give a comment if you can. That's helping!

So remember- every time you write a survey response, make it calm, rational, specific, helpful, and most important, write it so that a human who loves the dance scene can do an even better job next time.

Much love,
Mike t.G.

************************Addendum!**************************************
For EtB this year, I'm going to do something which will keep my fiance employed for days or weeks. I'm going to respond to anyone who wants it. You can either fill out the survey anonymously, or you can include your email address. If I see something that I would like to explain, or thank you for, or if you have any questions, I will answer you. That will take time, because we're expecting about 150 people, which means about 60 surveys (plus frequent eyeball-protection breaks), but I will answer anyone who wants an answer, for the dual purposes of better customer service, and better survey filler-outers in the future. Also, all of my teachers will get their feedback, and all of my DJs will get their feedback. So write meaningful stuff, y'all!

XKCD said it better than I could.
http://xkcd.com/438/

56 Comments

Swing Culture (Or, Part 1 of What Makes a Good Scene)

6/13/2011

20 Comments

Often, I am asked by students or colleagues, "What city do you think has the best blues/lindy scene?" This is, of course, a complicated question, for the obvious reason that 'best' is vague, broad, and personal. I think that most people can agree on several of the factors that would need to be measured: size of the scene, skill of the dancers, the quality of the music, the number of weekly events, the presence and skill of the instructors... but of course, there are probably many more. One of the most under-rated qualities of a scene, however, is its culture. I think it would be hard to argue that self-selecting groups of people, spending a good deal of time and money together don't have (or form) a culture of their own. Compare, for instance, the social undertones at a business meeting to a tango dance to an east-coast swing dance to a lindy dance. One of my favorite over-all scenes in the US for both lindy and blues is Philadelphia. Thanks to the values and policies of their scene leaders, their scene has grown from a handful of dancers just a few years ago, to a scene so special that there were (at my last count) 160 people swinging out at their weekly dance each week. Not 150 east-coasters, and 10 lindy hoppers. 160 people who could, at the minimum, swing out. Based on their model and success, I'm dedicated this post to Lindy and Blues, the Philly umbrella group.

For those of you who travel regularly to dance events, and also go out to 'normal' social engagements, have you ever marveled at the difference in the average IQ level? Sure, IQ is a questionable measure, blah blah blah. But really- swing dancers (especially hard-core traveling dancers) are darned smart. Much, much smarter than average. I'd love to do a study comparing various social group meetings' IQ averages. I have a feeling we rank pretty high (although I'm sure that Mensa would win that competition). Interestingly, the same is not necessarily true of all scenes nationally. Likewise, some scenes are populated by jazz aficionados, while others ask for more Cherry Poppin Daddies. Here are a few of the factors I value most highly:

Intellectualism
Case study: I'm pretty geeky, and I enjoy describing things accurately. So when I teach a swingout class, I talk about the fake-physics of following. People who are math-science types catch it, and enjoy an atmosphere that welcomes academic discussion. So now you have an instructor who's talking about physics, and students talking about brainy things on the side- often math/science/wordgames. So people who walk in the door are subjected to nerd-culture; people who like the culture stick around, and people who would rather talk about The View will get less pleasure out of their visit. Next thing you know, the social activities are things like sci-fi movie night, boggle night, etc. Personally, I thrive in that sort of environment. Don't bother asking me about football. I can tell you that Michael Vick and Ben Rothlisberger are bad people, and that's about it. So when I like the intellectual atmosphere in a scene, be prepare for a high IQ, and mad engineering skills.

Humility
This is so difficult, and my hats of to scenes like Philly that can manage it. My favorite scenes have leaders (instructors, djs, organizers) who practice what they preach. The teachers are students, the DJs are obsessed with learning about and finding new music... everyone who teaches or DJs seeks regular, honest feedback. Whether it's in the form of private lessons, workshops (DJ or dancing), DJ battles, practice sessions, or just asking other community members for feedback, the major players in the scene are constantly learning. Believe-you-me, I've seen firsthand the hunger that this inspires in students. Not to mention, of course, that if your instructors are constantly learning, your scene is always getting better instructors.

Good Music
I can't be the only dancer whose primary determinant for a good night (or not) is the music. And I just have to be brutally honest, here: I've heard the excuse that beginners will only dance to non-swing music, and I've seen proof that it simply isn't true. Yes, a DJ must choose their music wisely to cater to beginners. But that does not mean restricting yourself to pop and rock'n'roll. If you give beginners good music from the beginning, they learn the music, just like they're learning the dance. If you hold your scene DJs to high standards, I truly believe that this lets your students become more sophisticated dancers- and truly, more fun dancers. Musical dances are more fun, and venues which play good music are more fun. Combine the two, and... you get it.

Friendliness
Every scene has an overall personality. Some are reserved to the point of being cold; some are as friendly and overeager as a 2-yr-old golden retriever; some are just plain schizophrenic. To maintain growth, a scene must be welcoming, friendly, and positive- and this must come from the top down, with consistency. After all- being a beginner is scary, and sometimes you need to go where everybody knows your name.

Solid Technique
Everyone has heard the complaint at least once- such and such dancer will rip out your arm. No fun. Now, no beginner starts off amazing. (If your beginners are amazing, call me- I'm coming to learn from you!) But what your instructors teach in that first hour sets the course for a dancers career- or at least, the rest of the night. If your instructors are good, your beginners will feel nice to dance with. And if your beginners feel nice, the friendliness is just a little easier. Advanced and intermediates will enjoy dancing with your newbies, and as a result, your newbies will get better faster. Additionally, your big events will be more fun if your out-of-towners aren't your only dancers who are fun to dance with. And of course, good technique extends to more than just your beginners. If your dancers go out and give your city a good name by being fun to dance with, more dancers will come to your events, when have exchanges or workshops. Not to mention, your weekly dances are just way more fun!

Community
Ok, this one is pretty easy once you have humility and friendliness. But it's so important that I wanted it to get its own heading. How do you show your students you value the dance community as more than a source of income? 1. Welcoming new dancers explicitly- things like having a dedicated host, making it a policy to ask your beginner students to dance, having a new-dancer snowball at the end of a novice series, etc. 2. Supporting other facets of the scene- a bal event announcing a lindy workshop, a weekly dance announcing the exchange, etc. 3. Making individuals feel recognized- announcing when a community member wins at an out-of-town competition, jamming birthday people, etc. 4. 4. If your venue has announcements, make sure that they are respected, and tolerable- like parents making their kids sit down and turn off the tv at dinner, having announcements be a recognized, important ritual helps your students bond with you as an organizer.

There are more things that an organizer can do to create a good scene, but if you establish the right sort of culture, your dance scene is guaranteed to get better. Not only that, but it will have its own momentum to improve, even if you pass the reigns, or take a hiatus. This is the sort of culture that retains better potential students, produces better students, and establishes its own growth. This is the sort of culture that will draw dancers from all over the country to be teachers, DJs, or just happy participants.

Cheers to all the scenes who are actively working towards a better dance future, and especially those who directly teach their staff to embrace these ideals. You know who you are!

TL;DR: Want me to like your scene? Promote nerdiness, have awesome music, be friendly, have good technique, and put the community first. That's all.

20 Comments

Solo Blues Competitions

4/20/2011

25 Comments

I really, really enjoy solo blues. I love to teach it, I love to put it in my partner dancing, and I love choreographing it. However, you may have noticed that solo blues competitions are, shall we say, not my thing. For one thing, I'm a follower- improvising a dance just isn't my strong suit. But there's another reason I stay out of solo blues competitions: they're usually not solo blues competitions.

There exists, in other street dance forms, a type of competition called a cutting contest. In case you haven't seen them done, picture break dancers or hip-hop dancers. The idea is straightforward: you watch your opponent dance, then you respond, building or improving on what they did. Essentially, you're trying to one-up your opponent.

Allow me to give a ridiculous example (I'm assuming their dancing is interpretive- I'm just un-interpreting):

Dancer 1: "I'm awesome. I ride a unicorn, and fire a bow and arrow."
Dancer 2: "Oh yeah? I ride not a unicorn, but a pegasus, and I rain snakes down on you!"
Dancer 1: "Nice- I think you've wounded me... Too bad for you I have a snake slingshot, and launch them back at you!"

Clearly, dancer 1 has won. How do you come back against snake slingshots?

Seeing the potential for interesting, entertaining, and challenging competitions, blues organizers have latched on to the idea of cutting comps. But I'm afraid I simply have to say it: we, as a community, just aren't mature enough to play that game. What usually happens? Here, let me interpret again:

Dancer 1: "I'm awesome. I ride a unicorn."
Dancer 2: "Well, I'm humping your unicorn with infinite sexiness."
Dancer 1: "Well, I'm in your face, and I have infinite sexiness plus 1."
Dancer 2: "Well, I have infinite sexiness plus 2, and I'm even more in your face!"
And so on.

There are a few notable exceptions- people who can make the game more interesting by (this is rare) yielding in a fun way, or paying attention to their opponents, and answering their movements. But most of our competitors, most of the time, don't have that particular skill; they go for intimidation, rather than cleverness; they wind up with frantic shouting for attention, instead of musically appropriate phrasing. So rather than good cutting, or even just good solo dancing in its own right, we get a competition of who can be the most ridiculous and aggressive. Our only entrance, it seems, is to get in our competitors faces. Or, failing that, wander up right behind them and shadow them until they notice it. Why? Because a cool entrance would never get noticed, or get the floor.

Interestingly, charleston competitions- which are never called cutting comps, and have structured solo time- often still result in cutting. Go watch for the interplay in top-level competitors; I like to think that when our community is ready, we'll get there. But until our solo dance competitors more experience, confidence, and flexibility under their belts, I just don't think they're ready to add another layer. So for now, let's just focus on good dancing. Let's build a community of awesome solo dancers, and see where they take things.

25 Comments

The Incurable Educator: Stretching

3/10/2011

1 Comment

For those of you who haven't heard, I've picked up a part-time job at my local Curves (a gym designed for women, and especially women who don't like gyms- I love it!). My job title is "Circuit Coach." That means that in addition to handling any sales and phone calls, I hang out with the members, and act as a group personal trainer. Since that's not enough, apparently, I've picked up a new educational outlet. I've started posting science pop-news sheets. All the information is based on current scientific studies, and are designed to bring people relevant science info, in a (hopefully) fun, easy-to-swallow format. This one isn't on dancing, but it's on something that's particularly important to dancers: Stretching. Most people believe all sorts of myths about stretching, and don't know a lot of interesting truth about stretching.
Stretching: True or False? (Repeated with answers at bottom)

1. Stretching regularly improves muscle strength
2. Stretching before exercising reduces the risk of injury
3. Bouncing when you stretch is recommended by experts
4. Focusing on even, relaxed breaths will improve your stretch
5. To improve flexibility, you must hold a stretch for 60s
6. It’s good to stretch before warming up
7. Still stretches (holding a pose to stretch) are called static stretches
8. It’s best to stretch to mild discomfort, not farther
9. The first 25s of a stretch are the most efficient
10. Muscles are slightly weaker for 30m after static stretching

So what’s up with stretching?

There are actually several ways to stretch. The most common type of stretching, where we hold a pose, is called static stretching. For years, people have been told that static stretching should be part of your warm up to prevent injury. Recent studies, however, suggest that while warming up is crucial, static stretching doesn’t help. But there’s good news- stretching regularly not only improves your flexibility, it makes you stronger! The best time to stretch is when you’re already warmed up- so after your workout is the perfect time. How long you hold a pose is up to you; research suggests that 30s per pose is the best way to improve flexibility, but even a 15-20s stretch will help keep you loose, give you time to cool down, and help you get more out of your workout!

Try This:

Next time you stretch, focus on breathing deeply and evenly. Your muscles will relax, giving you a better stretch. Your mind might also get to relax!Stretching Quiz with Answers:1. Stretching regularly improves muscle strength.......................................................True
2. Stretching before exercising reduces the risk of injury…………………………….False
3. Bouncing when you stretch is recommended by experts…………………………..False
4. Focusing on even, relaxed breaths will improve your stretch….……………...……True
5. To improve flexibility, you must hold a stretch for 60s…………….…………….......False
6. It’s good to stretch before warming up……………………………….………….....….False
7. Still stretches (holding a pose to stretch) are called static stretches….……....…….True
8. It’s best to stretch to mild discomfort, not farther……………………….……......…….True
9. The first 25s of a stretch are the most efficient………………………………....……..True
10. Muscles are slightly weaker for 30m after static stretching……………………….True

1 Comment

Swing Scene Tools for Everyone!

The Importance of Non-Evil

Swing Culture (Or, Part 1 of What Makes a Good Scene)

Solo Blues Competitions

The Incurable Educator: Stretching

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